


A Change (of Heart)

by WinterSakuraAnastasia



Series: DanganRonpa V3: Everyone’s Killing (this) Game [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different Mastermind (Dangan Ronpa), Fix-It, Flashback Lights (Dangan Ronpa), Flashbacks, I’d Advise you to Finish the Game First, Major Spoilers, Multi, OOC characters, Pre-Game Personalities (New Dangan Ronpa V3), but don’t be fooled, kind of, not yet, out-of-character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:54:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26886955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterSakuraAnastasia/pseuds/WinterSakuraAnastasia
Summary: It was all over. The second culprit, [REDACTED], was dead.And yet, a strong sense of guilt and regret filled the mastermind’s heart.Wh... why? They were excited to start this Killing Game, right? This is what they always wanted to do, right?Then why, oh why, was this type of heart breaking sadness filling their heart?Why was there...Despair...?«•—•—•»The mastermind has a change of heart about Danganronpa, and the killing game, after the execution of the second culprit.They have very major ties to Danganronpa, which cannot be broken.But, perhaps, with the help of others, they can turn the killing game on its underside.(Major Spoilers for all of V3, please finish the game first!)
Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Series: DanganRonpa V3: Everyone’s Killing (this) Game [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1985170
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44





	1. Prologue (Log -8)

A young boy sat, motionless, hugging his knees as the bullies surrounded their prey.

It was him. He was their prey.

There was a malicious glint in their eyes as they stared down at the weak, helpless, boy beneath them.

He didn't realize children could be so ruthless.

"Hey! Get away from him!" Two voices shouted in unison."

"Crap!" The bullies' leader muttered under his breath. "It's the stuttery snitch and the nerd! Get away!" The bully and his goons ran away, as they knew the snitches would tell.

"H-Hey, are you okay?" The shy male asked.

No response.

"What's your... n-name?" He prompted.

The boy sat still, hugging his knees, not saying a single word.

"So, they bully you too... I'm sorry. I-I know I don't have to apologize for anything, b-but st-" the 'nerd' girl was cut off by the silent male.

"My name is..."

The wretched name spilt out of his mouth, and the two before him smiled.

"That's a nice name," the other boy smiled. "nice to meet you, —."

"N-nice to meet you, —!" the nerdy girl grinned, happy to meet a new person.

Looking back on it, those days were the beginning.

Those melancholy days...

...the days that began this horrible situation.

«•—(Log Zero)—•»

When Saihara woke up, he didn't know where he was at all. It was all dark. He was standing, but it was absolutely black.

He suddenly realized he was alone.

Saihara started to sweat, and he knew he was trembling.

_Get me out of here._

Whatever he was in shook to one side as his heartbeat kept accelerating.

_Get me out of here-_

He faintly heard a surprised yell as he shook the confined space he was in.

_Get me-_

Saihara pushed all his weight against whatever was in front of him.

_-out of here-!!_

And Saihara fell.

He looked up, eyesight blurry as it was suddenly thrown into a bright environment. His eyesight adjusted and noticed a blonde girl staring at him anxiously.

Saihara let out a surprised yelp and quickly pulled himself off the floor.

"How rude! Don't freak out at me like I'm some kind of monster!" the blonde girl said, annoyed.

Saihara let out a shaky breath. "A-ah... Sorry..."

"I'm sorry too, okay? I'm confused about what's going on, and it got to my head." she apologized, yet a trace of annoyance in her voice still lingered. "But, that's why we should stay calm. My name is Kaede Akamatsu. What's yours?"

"S-Shuichi Saihara," Saihara told Kaede hesitantly.

Silence was all that was heard, before the words (were they words?) 'oha-kuma!' filled the air.

Saihara looked down at the small thing that had popped out of thin air. "A teddy bear...?"

"N-no! That's a monster!" Kaede yelled out, a little on edge.

Saihara quickly waved off her words. His detective instinct was telling him these... 'monsters', had something important to say.

"A-aren't they just stuffed animals? Why are they talking?!" Kaede continued to panic.

Saihara could think of a few possibilities as to why, but instead opted to keep his mouth shut.

"We're not the Monokubs! We're stuffed animals!" The blue teddy bear piped up, and the word 'Monokub' eerily reminded Saihara of something.

"Psssst. Monokid. You're saying your lines backward." The yellow one whispered.

"...Huh? Monokubs?" Kaede had somewhat calmed down, but only at the possibility of understanding.

"Oh! Have you heard of us?" The pink Monokub asked nervously.

 _It feels like... I have._ Saihara attempted to ignore the feeling in his gut, as it was getting stronger.

"No! Of course not! I have never heard of walking, talking, stuffed animals!" The blonde yelled out, annoyance staining her voice.

For a brief moment, there was silence.

"Yayyyy! It worked!" "Phew! Had me worried there for a second."

"Worried about... what? I don't understand what's going on at all... I have so many questions!" Kaede was fed up with talking to the bears, and wanted to get straight to the point. Saihara watched this unfold in silence, as his mind tried to understand the situation he found himself in.

"Okay. What's your question?" The red Monokub, who seemed to be the leader of the group, chirped up.

"Well, for starters... where are we? This looks like a school..."

"Okay, so this place is called the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles." Kaede's question was answered.

"Ultimate Academy...? I've never heard of a school like that..." Saihara had a growing suspicion of what was happening, and it was getting bigger by the second.

"Of course you haven't!" the pink Monokub said. "This school was made for you sixteen cretins."

"Sixteen-?"

"Enough of that already! Let's get to the point and get started!" The blue Monokub yelled.

"Huh? Get started... with what?" Saihara couldn't help himself from asking.

"Exploring the academy, of course!" Red.

"Also, you should introduce yourself to the other ultimates." Yellow. "...Cuz, you guys are all gonna do **an activity** together later."

"Awesome! With all that being said..." Blue.

"Bye-kuma!"

The Monokubs disappeared, leaving Saihara and Akamatsu alone with their thoughts. A sense of dread went all throughout Saihara.

The 'activity' the yellow Monokub mentioned... What was it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s funny.
> 
> I never expected to be... ACTUALLY doing this, and now that I am, I’m so nervous...
> 
> Ugh! I need to focus! 
> 
> After all, they chose me, so I’ll have to go and just do it!


	2. Chapter 1 (Log Zero)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> • The Killing Game announces its beginning in the gymnasium.  
> —  
> • Saihara’s world turns upside down, but keeps on pretending like it’s all okay.  
> —  
> • The mastermind laughs inwardly, as everything comes off to a good start.

Saihara and Akamatsu had already gone around introducing themselves to all the other ultimates.

There was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind, telling him _be suspicious, be suspicious, they could hurt you, don't trust, don't trust_.

Saihara desperately tried to push down that feeling of his, as there was no reason to suspect anyone yet.

_But why was he so suspicious of everyone he met?_

_He couldn't even trust Akamatsu and followed her reluctantly._

The two of them had heard the announcement for the opening ceremony to be held at the gym. They were currently at the dorms, so it would be quite a long walk. His suspicions were still high in the air, and so Saihara reluctantly asked Akamatsu for her opinion.

"What we should do? Go, of course! Everyone else is likely doing the same thing." Akamatsu gave Saihara one of her uncertain smiles and walked out of the dormitory area. Saihara took a deep breath and followed after.

«•—•—•»

Akamatsu had already walked into the gym, head held high, but Saihara froze. His hand was frozen in place above the handle, shaking, and he was unsure of what to do, and why he was so nervous.

Were his suspicions about to be confirmed? Saihara always had amazing intuition, and that intuition told him something horrible was about to begin. Saihara entered the gymnasium, unsure of what was about to come, but semi-ready to take it on anyway.

The doors opened, and Saihara's eyes scanned across the room.

True to Akamatsu's words, everyone he had met in the closed-off school was there. The teenagers were talking amongst themselves, with Momota proudly declaring to the rest of them, "If those stupid teddy bears show up again, I'll kick all their asses!"

All gazed landed on the loud-mouthed astronaut, eyeing him warily.

"What's with all the funny looks f-" Momota was cut off by the insect-loving Gokuhara.

"...Huh? Is Gonta hearing things?" Mild shock showed on the entomologist's face.

"No, it's not just you," Shirogane added. "I think this sounds like an engine from a robot ani-"

The loud sound of whirring metal filled the air, as everyone's eyes immediately looked up in fear.

"OHA-KUMA!!" The Monokubs yelled in unison.

Saihara jumped back in terror as Shirogane screamed.

"E-everyone! Behind Gonta!"

"W-what are all these monsters?!" Chabashira got into a defensive stance, despite the exisals being way taller than her.

Harukawa, as calm as ever, took a slight jab against Momota. "Didn't a certain someone say they would 'kick all their asses?'"

"D-don't look at me! No one ever told me about this!" Momota stuttered in retaliation.

The chaos continued until Amami stepped up, not a trace of fear on his face. "Everyone, chill out. We're most likely not in any danger. If they wanted to kill us, we would be dead right now."

Heads slowly turned to the green-haired boy. "Y-you're right." Saihara agreed, but let Amami continue.

"So... what do you want from us? You clearly want _something_ , right? That's what the guns are for."

The exisals hesitantly shuffled around, not a single word uttered, and so Amami continued to speak.

"Let me guess... you're gonna force us to do something, and if we don't, we're gonna get hurt. Well, congratulations on catching our attention. What is it that you want?" Amami's spiel ended, and the yellow Monokub laughed.

"Well, ain'tcha a wiseguy?" And the cue was passed to Monokid.

"Then I'll start! Listen up! This is what we want you, little delinquents, to d-"

"KILLING-GAME." Monodam had finished his sentence, and with those words, a sense of dread filled Saihara's heart.

"W-what?" Akamatsu's disbelief spilled out of her, as Saihara could only watch the scene unfold before him.

"W-wait a second, you degenerates. What did you say?" Chabashira's nervous smile said all that was on her mind.

"I-If I heard him correctly, he said-"

"KILLING-GAME." Monodam repeated, and Monokid angrily said something about how he was going to crush him with the exisal.

The Monokubs began to fight amongst themselves, but Saihara was silent and his world was turning on its axis. Voices were surrounding him as his eyesight was getting blurry.

Saihara's earlier suspicions...

...his _worst_ assumptions, ones he had hoped to never be confirmed in any way...

...were true.

Saihara quickly slapped a hand over his mouth. He was feeling sick. Through the clamor, a single voice cut through the anarchy.

"My cute little cubs..."

Saihara knew.

He knew whose light-hearted, playful voice that was.

Maybe the person who kidnapped them had screwed up big-time, because he had a faint memory, somewhere...

...of a laughing bear, two-toned and monotonous, with a voice that would send a shiver of **despair** into anyone who would listen.

It was fuzzy, unclear, yet it was still ingrained and drilled hard into his memory.

The last bear Saihara'd ever want to see in his life had popped up from behind the podium and glared, angrily, at his cubs.

"Wh-What is this?! _What's going on?!_ " Akamatsu's nerves were fried, and Saihara couldn't blame her. It was absolutely ridiculous, and Saihara was about to lose it as well.

"A-another teddy bear appeared..." Shirogane shifted slightly, warily glancing about.

"Yes, but that is no ordinary teddy bear." Shinguuji told Shirogane in reply. "I can see it... the despair and madness swirling around that cursed thing..."

"You're being rude! I'm no teddy bear! I'm Monokuma!"

 _Monokuma_... Saihara's world was very, very near to collapsing. His head was pulsating, a constant wave of pain spiking throughout.

He didn't even care about the rest of the things the accursed bear said. He was focusing on keeping his head clear, the black dots out of his vision, and he learned very quickly that it was a hard thing to do when you're teetering on the edge of fainting.

"Killing school semester... **it's like a game**." Amami cruelly smiled, and Saihara nearly scoffed.

_They said it was a killing game earlier... of course it's a game..._

A game of life or death.

"T-this has to be a lie!! Right?! This is all a lie, right?!" Shirogane yelled.

 _What a nice lie it would be._ "I-I don't want to be in a killing game... It's... that's, it's so wrong. I'd never do that..." Saihara murmured under his breath, but the omnipresent bear seemed to notice.

"Upupu! Tough luck! The killing game is the only reason why you're at this school!"

"What...?!" Saihara was speechless.

"Hold on, just a minute!" Akamatsu yelled, words slicing through the tense air.

"Hm...?" She caught the bear's attention.

"No matter what you say, we won't do it! We will NEVER participate in a killing game! Whatever you have planned, we aren't going to let you get away with it!" Akamatsu said her piece, defying the small bear.

"Akamatsu! You shouldn't rashly defy that... thing! Who knows what it can do!"

"No, no! I welcome her resistance! It's so much fun to watch the defiant ones eventually snap, and get their hands dirty... Upupupu!"

"Ah-hahahahahahahaha!"

The bears continued to laugh as the air tensed, and dread settled on the shoulders of the teenagers.

«•—•—•»  
  


It was all going to plan.

The mastermind inwardly smiled as they faked a shocked expression (Some of it was real. Even if you expect it, sudden loud noise gets you to jump a little).

This was their world, their characters. Their executions, their deaths. All of it belonged to them. Without showing it, they glanced at Amami.

He would throw a wrench in their plans, definitely.

They needed him out of the picture for this beloved killing game to continue.

Monokuma and his cubs laughed psychotically, and the mastermind nearly let out a laugh with them.

This world, Danganronpa, and all its inhabits, were theirs, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even if... 
> 
> Even if I care deeply for him, Amami-kun has to go. His death is needed for the plot to advance, after all. 
> 
> It’s strange... I’m feeling a little sad...
> 
> ...maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all...


End file.
